In the times of the Ancient Greeks, here was the site of Bata of the Bosporan Kingdom, a colony that specialized in the grain trade. It was settled by Adyghe tribes and later conquered by the Mongols. From 1722 to the Russo-Turkish war in 1829, the area was controlled by the Ottomans. In 1855, English and French fleets unsuccessfully besieged the fort during the Crimean war. In late 1942, the area was occupied by the Germans.

A naval base is under construction and is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

Novorossiysk has a humid subtropical climate. In winter, the air masses from the north take hold of the city while in the summer the air is of tropical origin. The cold weather lasts from November to March and three-day storms with severe wind are pretty common. The clouds of cold air rolling over the mountains look like giant candyfloss and temperatures drop 10-15 degrees in a few hours.

The average temperature of July is 23.7C and is 2.3C in January. The bay is prone to tornadoes and storms in August.

A train departs Moskva Kazansky terminal in Moscow every day at 2:18PM arriving in Novorossiysk at 12:55 the next day (22.5 hours, From RUB2,500). There are 2 other daily trains from Moscow, but they are much slower, taking up to 37 hours. From Saint Petersburg, there are departures every second day during summer (41.5 hours, From RUB3,200).